Wondering about LC and HTML5

[Chipp Walters]

Perhaps it's wise to consider an oft-quoted famous statement by
Wayne Gretzky, "I don't skate to where the puck is. I skate to where it's
going to be."

Let's count the number of OS'es now in need of support from multi plaftform
IDEs:

   1. MacOS Tiger, Lion and who knows what previous versions
   2. Windows 7 and soon 8, not to mention 2000, XP and Vista still in use
   3. iOS (iPad and iPhone)
   4. Android and the many different flavors and versions it has for both
   phone and tablet.
   5. HP's new WebOS
   6. Doesn't Blackberry have a tablet OS?
   7. ChromeOS and Chromebook
   8. Linux and it's many different flavors
   9. I'm sure I'm missing some

Now the number of mainstream browsers:

   1. Internet Explorer (I see where Google just end of lifed support of it
   in Gmail and Google Apps)
   2. Chrome
   3. Safari
   4. Firefox

It appears to me, the browsers are consolidating much quicker than any of
the OS'es. In fact, the OS'es are all competing with each other by
highlighting the differences, something the browsers have to be much more
careful about.

Assuming HTML5 becomes decently stable and robust AND capable, doesn't it
make more sense to target it as a delivery platform rather than having to
contingency plan for the constantly moving target which the various OS'es
represent? And, that's the real problem with most OS'es today-- they are all
basically the same. Sure, some are prettier, others more safe, but they all
provide the basic same functions.

In fact, what is more interesting to me is seeing how Apple had to actually
reset OS expectations with the iPad. Let's be honest, the OS on iPad is way
behind in terms of functionality. No true multi-tasking. The interface has
been dumbed down considerably yet see how EASY they are to use. And Jobs
knows that EASE OF USE translates into sales. The first Mac 128 cold booted
in under 30 seconds. My Mac and Windows machines take many minutes. Don't
get me started about how feature creep has ruined countless applications--
MS Word primary among them. I can get 99% of what I need done word
processing-wise using the MacWrite like GDocs. Adding features on top of
features on top of features is just confusing everyone.

One thing about Chromebook-- EVERYONE knows instantly how to use it. Turn it
on and it's just a browser. I don't care whether it's Linux, Debian, MacOS,
Windows or your mothers cupcake under the hood-- it just works.

So, if we focus on where the puck WILL be-- is it fair to say it's headed in
the direction of HTML5 web apps? I dunno, but it is interesting to
consider....